Untitled
by MelancholyCanary
Summary: you've heard it before...girl whisked away to Halloween Town. but i swear, this one is different!Chap 3!NOT A MARY SUE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own it and never will. I do, however, own all characters that you don't recognize. So there. XP

The rain continued. It was a hard rain, a miserable rain, a driving, vengeful rain. It came in sheets, in surges, and in torrents. It tore at the trees and hammered relentlessly at the houses on Claven Street. The street itself was a slick and glassy black from the downpour of water, and the streetlights cast an hazy golden glow through the water hurtling from the sky.

Alex stared, eyes glazed, through the widow. She wasn't really looking at anything; she was adsorbed in thought, and her eyes just happened to be open. Her heart felt like a black hole, sucking in every little happy thought her brain could produce and turning it to misery. Trying to ignore the perpetual, rude staccato on the roof, she sighed. _Why did it have to rain tonight?_

"Cheer up, kiddo," her mother said as she came through the bedroom door carrying a brimming laundry basket. "It won't rain forever." Alex scowled at the window.

"But it's raining tonight of all nights."

"Yes, but there's next year..."

"But that's a long way away! And now I'm not going to get any candy until Christmas!"

Her mother set the basket down and sat next to Alex on the window seat. "Think of it this way; we can eat all the candy we were going to give away."

"It's not the same; I wouldn't have earned it. Besides, you'd make me share with Josh."

Alex practically spat her younger brother's name. Her mother sighed and smiled at her.

"There's just no pleasing you."

"Nope," said Alex, still thoroughly unhappy.

Her mother chortled. "Every day above ground is a good day, sweetie," her mother said, tousling her daughter's dark brown hair. Alex grimaced. "Not when it's like this."

Feeling sluggish and thoroughly depressed, Alex made her way from the window seat to her bed. She had a nice room; pale pink walls, with rose-colored bed sheets and other frilly do-dads. A collection of miscellaneous things sat on a shelf; a little pearwood music box, a key around a silver chain, and an assortment of old dolls sat quietly, collecting dust. She collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling. _I'll just lay here until I die,_ she thought, frowning again. She snickered at a sudden thought; _'Cause of death: Boredom'_. She frowned at the ceiling as she heard the rumble of thunder, waiting for the sudden flicker of lightning. She didn't bother to count the seconds between the lightning and thunder, partially because she didn't care how close the storm was and partially because she was too lazy to anyway. There it went; the sudden, violent light that invaded her room for a split second and then was gone. More thunder followed immediately after.

Rolling on her stomach, she saw something that made her heart plummet and her eyes water. Her costume, so painstakingly made, was hanging on the closet door. She had made it herself with almost no help from her mother; it was carefully laid out, ready to wear. Or it would be, anyway, had it not been for the second Noah's Flood happening outside. It was raining far too hard for anyone to bother to trick-or-treat; water rushed down the sidewalks in violent mini flash-floods, and it was almost impossible to see through the thick sheets of cold grey rain. Most people had taken their jack-o-lanterns and other decorations inside, because they would be unrecognizable in the morning from patches of green and white mold due to the sudden moisture. It had been very clear the moment the foreboding, dark clouds had rolled in that afternoon; Halloween wasn't going to be celebrated that year.

Alex blinked away tears as she continued to gaze at her costume; she had made every part of it, even the hat, with the exception of the stockings, which her mother had sewn. Her witches dress looked lovely in the dim light of the ceiling lamp; the scarlet sequins on the skirt glittered invitingly, and the pillowcase beside it, a pumpkin stitched on the front, reminded her that she wouldn't have any of Mrs. Conner's homemade caramel apples that year. Well, she wouldn't be getting them fresh, anyway.

Alex glanced at the clock; nine thirty-three. She decided she might as well get some sleep. Crawling into bed, she turned off the light. The rain made eerie patterns on her window, and the din made by the rain on the roof was monotonous and annoying. She turned over, facing toward the hall door. Closing her eyes tightly and mustering all the mental strength she had, she thought, _I wish I was out of here._

BOOM.

Alex flinched at the sudden noise that didn't sound quite like thunder.

BOOM.

The lights went out. She sat up, her heart pounding; had a tree fallen on the house?

BOOM.

The third time made her jump out of bed, and scramble for her slippers.

Lightning lit up the room for an unexpected second; she felt the house shudder, and noticed that the window was bowing inward. She didn't have time to scream as it burst violently open.

well, that's chapter one for ya...now be nice and review. Please?


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially Janette Morgan

...and don't worry, there's not going to be any slutty-headstrong-gorgeous witch OCs or anything along those lines.

Disclaimer: I have no legal right to be writing this story, but that's just too damn bad.

"It's pissing rain out there."

Alex blinked. The din of the rain had stopped(or at least softened), and an unfamiliar figure with an unfamiliar voice was silhouetted in the now open window. The lights went back on to reveal the strange personage now closing a sopping, ratty-looking black umbrella. The woman standing on the windowsill was tall and lanky—at least six feet tall and skinny as a rail--and she was wearing the most bizarre assortment of clothes Alex had ever seen.

The stranger was wearing black patent-leather boots, black-and-white striped stockings, what looked like denim walking shorts, an oversized belt with a massive silver buckle, a purple corset for a top, and fingerless, velveteen black gloves. But the strangest thing was the coat. It was a grimy shade of green; the bottom half of it seemed to be rotting, there were gold-tasseled epaulettes on the shoulders, and the collar looked like it was made of a matted, mangy fur.

Alex watched in dumb awe as the lady opened the coat, revealing the inside to be completely lined with every size of pocket imaginable. She stuffed the closed umbrella into a pocket that looked barely big enough to hold a pencil. However, she got it in without a problem. She looked up to see Alex staring.

"What?"

Alex blinked.

The lady yawned and stepped off onto the window seat and inside, obviously intent on making herself at home. She strode over to the shelf and picked up the music box, blew the dust off, and commenced to examine it.

Alex finally found her voice.

"W--W-What're you doing in my house?" she said in a stunned, flat tone.

The woman looked up, surprised as if seeing Alex for the first time. She smiled, showing dingy teeth that were a little too big and pointed to be human. She set down the music box on the nearby desk; muttering to herself, she pulled a ragged, faded scrap of parchment from an inner pocket. She squinted at it.

"Alex Yew? Eleven years old?"

"Yes..." said Alex Yew, eleven years old, feeling very awkward.

"Oh good," said the stranger pleasantly. "For a moment I thought I'd gotten the wrong house."

"I'm sorry," said Alex, feeling a little offended by the random intrusion, "but I don't think I caught your name."

"Ragnabella Ascherputtle, commonly known as Rags," said Rags, smiling again. Alex took a close look at her. She had a thin, clever face, with a small pointed nose and huge, pale, cat-like eyes that had dark shadows around them. Her hair, pulled back in an attempt at a pony tail, was mousy brown and wild, with wisps of it coming out every which way. Her skin was so pale it had an almost bluish tinge. It was impossible to tell her age; she could be anywhere from fifteen to thirty.

"Um, not to be rude..."

"Yeah?"

"...but...why are you here?"

"I'm a kind of delivery girl, if you will," said Rags casually, resuming her examination of the music box. Alex shook herself, trying to get over the strangeness of the situation. "...well, are you here for the music box? 'Cause it's not for sale..."

Rags laughed, a wheezy, piping sound. The laughter turned into a small coughing fit, and once it was over Rags turned to Alex and gave her a weak smile. "Nah, I was just looking at it. You're the reason I'm here." She said, pointing a skinny claw-like finger at Alex.

"Are you going to kidnap me?" Alex asked, panic in her voice. Rags snorted. "No, you don't have to come if you don't want to." She pulled out an ancient-looking gold pocket watch from one of her inner pockets, frowned at it, and turned back to Alex. "Can we hurry this up? There's others in line if you don't want to come..."

"Where're we going?" asked Alex, suspicious. Rags quirked an eyebrow.

"Where the hell do you think? To Halloween, of course!" Rags beamed, showing her jagged teeth. Alex blinked again.

"Halloween's an event, not a place," she said, glaring at her new acquaintance. Rags snorted again.

"Show's what you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Holidays _are_ places, I'll have you know," said Rags, rolling her dark-rimmed eyes and looking down her nose at Alex as if she was something like a squished slug. "Since your Halloween is ruined here, I've come to take you to the actual place. You're one of the selected living few who get half a chance to come. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity; think about it..." Rags gestured and gave a dramatic. "Of course, if you don't want to go..."

Alex opened and closed her mouth several times. Part of her wanted to go, but she wasn't sure what to do. When would she be back? _Would_ she be back?

Rags stood in silence, giving her a bemused, irritated stare. After a minute of awkward quiet, she said in a silky, airy voice, "Well, you don't seem to want to go, soooo..." she leapt lightly onto the windowsill. Rags made like she was ready to jump off, when Alex cried, "Wait!"

Rags didn't move for a moment. She turned her torso, very slowly, toward Alex, a smug, triumphant smirk on her face. She slowly and deliberately extended her gloved hand. As if in a dream, Alex took it.

Rags' toothy smirk broadened as she clamped her long, thin fingers around Alex's small hand in a cold, vice-like grip. Alex noted that Rags had strange fingernails; they were black, but not painted black—the actual flesh itself under her glassy nails was dark and bluish. Alex looked up into the window and felt her stomach drop; the familiar view—lamppost, street, trees, and houses—had been replaced by a gaping, black void.

Suddenly changing her mind, Alex opened her mouth to protest, but at that moment, Rags glanced at her and said, "Ready or not, here weee gooooooooo!" Then, her small delivery in tow, she leapt with all her might out the window and was swallowed into the abyss.

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Well, that's chapter two...reviews appreciated...

Illustration of Rags: http/ 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to anyone and everyone who reviewed! sends cookies and good karma

Disclaimer: All characters you don't recognize copyright me, everything else copyright someone with money.

There was a soft thunk as two pairs of feet hit the hard, dry earth. Her eyes still squeezed painfully shut, Alex had been holding her breath for so long she was starting to feel light headed. She heard a familiar voice beside her, "Okay, we're here, so you can release my hand from that death grip of yours and open your eyes; and, in case you weren't sure, there _is _oxygen in the air, so you may want to start breathing before your head explodes."

Slightly embarrassed that she had been squeezing Rag's hand so hard, Alex let go,

took a breath, and opened her eyes. She was a little bewildered by the view she was confronted with.

The earth here was a dark, colorless grey, and the inky, starless sky sported only a leering, full amber moon. The trees, dead and lacking leaves, stood ramrod straight, their claw like branches reaching upward like skeletal hands. A hill—was it a hill?—was silhouetted against the huge harvest moon, curling like some strange ocean wave, tiny strange lights twinkling at it's base. But what struck Alex most was the smell of the air; like rotting leaves and mulling spice and burning kindle all rolled into one, with other smells she couldn't name lurking under it.

Rags inhaled and exhaled dramatically, clutched at her heart said in a dreamy voice, "Beeeee-yutiful, 'ent it? Just take it allllll in." Feeling the moment had been ruined a little, Alex turned her gaze a little to the right, and saw other lights; town lights, or maybe those of a small city...

"That," said Rags matter-of-factly, "is the town of Halloween." She looked down at Alex pitifully. "Here, take this, reckon you'll need it," she said, handing Alex a silky black cloak from out of nowhere. The material was rich and heavy and extremely warm, and Alex felt a little better as she pulled the cape around her shivering shoulders.

There was a slight pause before Rags burst into a sudden and rapid flood of words. "Okay, listen up; just walk down the road to town so you can run around a bit. Don't go into anyone's house, don't eat anything you find on the street, and don't try to steal anything, 'specially if it looks valuable. Believe me, I learned the hard way," Rags said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a smile, and this time Alex noticed the gleam of gold in her mouth. "You must earn your candy, so be prepared for that. Don't drink out of the fountain, and never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER EVER smash a pumpkin. Oh, and this is important," Rags lowered her voice and drew Alex a little closer, as if she were revealing a dark secret to her. "There are three kids—one dressed as a devil, one dressed as a witch, and one dressed as a skeleton—do not, under any circumstances, follow them. They may invite you to go with them, but do not, I repeat, DO NOT tag along. I cannot impress on you enough the need to avoid them. Am I clear?" Alex studied her guide's face; all traces of impish mischief was gone, replaced by a hard, serious grimace.

"Yes," said Alex solemnly, feeling a little nervous. "Good," said Rags cheerfully, back to her own self, "And if you get in a spot, just ask for me. Or ask for Jack; he'll help you." "What does Jack look like?" Alex asked, already having a hunch she may need to know. "Tall skinny guy, you can't miss 'em." said Rags vaguely, waving her hand as if the question was a bothersome fly. She pulled out the pocket watch at smiled at it. "Well, I think that about covers it; ta for now." Alex turned again to face the town, feeling uneasy and giddy. "But what if I--?" she said, but as she turned to face Rags, she found she was gone.

Alone, with only the butterflies now inhabiting her stomach for company, Alex turned toward the town, and made her way down the winding path, following the sounds of the night.

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REVIEW TIME!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own TNBC and there's not a very good chance I ever will. I do, however, own all of my own characters.

A/N: time for a nice, loooooooong chappie to celebrate the end of exams and the beginning of break! Happy Holidays!

Alex pulled the cape tighter around her shoulders as a breeze, carrying two or three shriveled leaves with it, blew past her, making her dark brown hair billow out and goose bumps appear on her skin. It wasn't a terribly cold night; brisk was a better word for it. As she trudged down the hill, kicking a stray pebble in front of her in a kind of one-person soccer, she reflected on the nights events. It had been raining, and she was sad because she couldn't go trick or treating. Then Rags arrived, whisked her away to Halloween, and here she was. Where was Halloween, anyway? Another dimension? A parallel universe? What were the citizens like? Were they something other than human? Were they all like Rags? And when would she be home?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the rude squawk of a crow perched on a nearby tree. It glared at her with beady obsidian eyes, looking at her almost expectantly. "What?" she asked it. It preened it's feathers and then flew off, alighting on the tree next to her. Glaring at it, Alex continued on her way.

Things were following her. She didn't know what sort of things, but it seemed like the underbrush beside the path rustled more often that it should have. She was getting a little agitated; her bedroom slippers did not make good walking shoes, and she was getting hungry. To make matters worse, she had almost walked into a flock low-flying bats, an experience that reminded her just how nice her soft warm bed would be right now. The trees ended suddenly, and she stood before the great curling hill. The sparkling lights she had seen at it's base were actually jack-o-lanterns, still on the vine, grinning and snarling and pulling faces at each other. A small distance from the hill stood a rickety fence with a huge, wrought-iron gate. It didn't take a genius to guess what the fence enclosed.

Deciding not to waste any more time, she trudged up around the base of the hill and entered the cemetery. Huge, crooked tombstones, in the shapes of giant crosses and more traditional rectangles, jutted out of the earth like strange plants made from granite and marble; some so faded with time the names had been erased, others robed in scraggly ivy. Some headstones were actually statues of grotesque, ghost-like creatures. There were even pets buried here; Alex came across a headstone in the shape of a horses head, a cat's tiny mausoleum, and even a tiny marble doghouse with 'ZERO' engraved across it's front. Alex fought her way up another hill and pushed the tall, ornate wrought-iron gate aside, causing the ill-oiled thing to squeak and groan.

Alex took a moment to gaze at the view; she could see the entire town, which seemed to be mostly made up of tall, angular spires and towers. Suddenly very excited and very giddy, Alex ran as fast as she could toward the town, something that was not easily achieved in her slippers.

Several misty shapes darted in and out of her path, howling and moaning. Ghosts, Alex thought, slowing herself down as she reached the town gate. However, she still managed to accidentally run through a ghost; it was like walking through the mist dry ice gives off, only colder and more tingly. As Alex reached the town gate, she was abruptly poked in the side of the head. Whirling around, she saw Rags, grinning down at her with her outrageous assortment of teeth. Rags' hair was down, forming a wild brownish mane around her narrow shoulders, and she was wearing a black silk top hat that had seen better days. A knobby, ropelike scarf the color and texture of a rotten orange hung around her neck.

"Well well well, I'm glad to see ye made it in one piece," she said, winking at Alex before the girl could say anything. "I got in loads of trouble jus'cause I didn't escort you t'town. I figured you were smart enough, but nooooooooooooooo, Ol' Pun'kin Head was afraid ya'd get lost." She had a small coughing fit into a small pink handkerchief she had in her hand, and gave Alex a weak smile once she had composed herself. She cleared her throat and looked Alex up and down with a frown. "We ought to get you some decent clothes, I think," she said, furrowing her brow in thought. "Old Mother Spyndle'll have something you can borrow for the night. Come with me." Grabbing Alex's hand, Rags steered her down the street and into a crowd.

For the first time, Alex saw the citizens of Halloween up close. None of them, as she suspected, were human. There seemed to be a few corpse people, a handful of witches (all of them mean-looking and hard-featured, none of them 'Sabrina' types), a few werewolves, a clique of vampires (dressed in black, bald, and alabaster white), and a few miscellaneous monsters. Alex couldn't help noticing the severe lack of color the town had; black, grey, and orange seemed to be the predominant colors. She didn't get a really good look at anybody; Rags was practically racing through the town square, giving a fast-paced tour as she went.

"That's the town hall, built a really long time ago by an architect who I can't remember...that's Skellington Manor right there...that's the fountain, they built that in 1598, I remember there used to be a big firepit there before it was installed...that's the moon...um...over there's the apothecary...there's the witches house...that's The Observatory, up there, that great ugly thing with the one window...the Doctor lives there...um...there's the town guillotine...here's the alley we want...going right...and here we are!"

They abruptly halted in front of a small, deserted looking cottage wedged between two taller and much newer buildings. The cottage looked ancient, it's windows so coated with grime they were impossible to see into, and runes were carved into the door frame. Rags unceremoniously pounded twice on the scarred wooden door. She waited a minute before opening it, it's hinges groaning for want of oil.

The door to the cottage emerged into a tiny, incredibly cluttered parlor, with junk on just about every surface; stacks of age-yellowed paper; leather-bound books; candle stick holders, their contents burned down to stubs; boxes; and other things one would expect in an overcrowded antique store were piled on tables, chairs, shelves, and much of the floor, precariously stacked almost to the ceiling. The air was stale, stiflingly so, and had the sour smell of age. A crow was perched upon a precariously balanced pile of sallow paper, it's unblinking inky stare fixed on Alex. For a moment she thought it was the same bird she had seen earlier, but then, didn't all crows look the same? It was very claustrophobic; the floor was so covered with junk that it had almost vanished; there were strategically placed cleared spots, where one could hop from room to room. It wasn't very comfortable to be jammed up against Rags' bony figure for fear of knocking something over and drowning in a tsunami of papers; or knocking over one of the numerous lit candles that gave a soft yellow light and setting the place ablaze.

"Mother Spyndle, are you home?" Rags called into the doorway to the next room, carefully balancing in the paper-free spot (with a diameter of about eight inches) that she and Alex were both crammed into. There was a soft sound from the other room, and Rags nimbly leapt to the other clear spot two feet away. They moved across the room like this until entering another room, just as cluttered as the previous one, but instead of paper, the room was packed with scraps and bolts of every kind of fabric imaginable. Heavy silks in vermilion and saffron and sage, crushed velvets in sapphire and onyx and amber, even lace in black and every shade of white and every other color imaginable. A pin-cushion the size of a grapefruit was propped up against a huge bolt of lavender satin. It was if, Alex thought, all the color of this world had been bottled up in one room.

A bonfire was burning merrily in a massive fireplace that was almost five feet tall. An equally huge armchair, upholstered in a dingy green with a lace shawl covering it's top, sat facing it. The waves of heat coming from the fire were almost unbearable, and Alex already felt a thin film of sweat forming on her forehead. A tiny squeak of a voice said, "Is that you, Ragnabella?"

"It is indeed, Mother Spyndle," said Rags, obviously trying to hide her annoyance at being called her formal name. Rags, too, was sweating, and a sort of lilac-colored flush was creeping into her cheeks from the heat. She had already taken off her scarf and put it in one of her pockets. She did not, however, take off her heavy coat or her hat. Visitor and guide moved carefully toward the overstuffed chair. Rags nudged Alex forward. "Mother Spyndle, this is Alex. She's a visitor. She needs something to wear for tonight."

Alex almost didn't see the woman Rags was addressing. Mother Spyndle looked over a thousand years old, tiny, and was literally the color of dust. Her skin-incredibly wrinkled and a slightly translucent; her hair-or what frail, cottony wisps were left of it; and her eyes-barely visible from behind thick, foggy lenses-were all pale and wan. She was dressed in a plain, black calico dress, a black shawl draped over her shoulders and a faded brown blanket on her lap. The size of the armchair made the tiny old woman look even smaller, like doll far too small for it's dollhouse.

The woman squinted (or, at least, that's what Alex assumed she was doing) at the girl's face and nodded. "I can't make the measurements now," the woman squeaked, "but I think she can guess at her own size. How tall are you, child?"

"Four five," said Alex, feeling a blush crawl into her cheeks that wasn't from the heat. She was very small and slight for her age, and was dwarfed by nearly everyone in her class.

"Well then," said Mother Spyndle, "go look in the closet and see if you find something you fancy. And do hurry; you don't want to waste time."

Rags gently shoved Alex toward what the girl had originally thought was a unwound bolt of cloth flowing over the wall. She pushed it aside so reveal the biggest walk-in closet Alex had ever seen. Clothes of every color, shape, size, fabric, and style were lined neatly against the wall, sorted by size, going from smallest to largest. Alex walked along the line of costumes before she found a shimmering green dress in what she assumed was her size. It was a lovely gown; flowing emerald satin, with a heavily embroidered velvet bodice. She Quickly changed and found the matching witches hat (velvet with a satin sash), shoes (satin with a tiny heel) and gloves (satin). After hurrying out of the closet and into the uncomfortably warm room were Rags was waiting, she asked what time it was. Rags yelped when she glanced at the huge grandfather clock in the corner; the next thing Alex knew she was being dragged by her arm out the door at full speed, while Rags rapidly said her goodbyes.

As soon as they were out in the cool outside air, Rags turned to Alex and smiled. "Lovely color," she said, pointing at her hat. "Now", she said suddenly, turning towards the street, "we need to get going before we lose any more time. Follow me; and don't worry, I promise I won't wander off." And so, the two made their way back to the town square, just as the festivities began to really get started.

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A/N: kind of a weak chapter ending, but, c'mon, people, gimme a break. Now, do your part and review!


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